June

THE FARM POST
The Official Publication of the Pike and Scott County Farm Bureaus
Vol. 7
No. 9
Health Tax Would HIT Small
Business Employees
The Health Insurance Tax will hurt small business employees
the hardest, according to congressional testimony today by New
York Farm Bureau President and dairy owner Dean Norton. Testifying before the House Small Business Subcommittee on Health and
Technology, Norton, also a board member of the American Farm
Bureau Federation, encouraged members to cosponsor H.R. 763,
which would repeal the HIT.
The HIT, which was passed as part of the Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act, will be levied on a health insurance company’s net premiums. But, said Norton, in the end it will be employees who ultimately pay the price.
“Because of escalating health insurance premiums, we’ve had
to significantly change the cost structure from covering about 90
percent of the insurance cost to approximately 50 percent through
a high deductible plan,” said Norton. “Unfortunately, the people
who are really hurt by this change are the employees. They now
have to contribute a larger portion of the expense when they seek
medical attention.”
Most farmers and other small businesses do not self-insure
because they do not have a large enough pool of employees, said
Norton. Instead, small employers purchase health insurance on
the fully insured market. Because the smallest employers almost
never self-insure, they will end up bearing the brunt of the HIT.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s 2012 Survey of
Employer Health Benefits, only 15 percent of the smallest employers self-insure. Further, health insurance costs for small businesses have increased 103 percent since 2000. According to the
Joint Committee on Taxation, the HIT will further increase family
premiums by $400 or 2.5 percent in the year 2016, making it
even harder for farmers to purchase coverage for themselves, their
families and their employees.
“Being able to offer health insurance is important to us as we
strive to offer benefits that attract high quality workers and to
keep them healthy and productive once they are on the payroll,”
continued Norton. But, he said, “Escalating health insurance costs
not only impact farm employers, but also those who purchase
health insurance coverage for themselves and their families.”
H.R. 763, introduced by Reps. Charles Boustany (R-La.) and
Jim Matheson (D-Utah), would repeal the annual fee on health insurance providers, preventing premium increases for individuals
and small businesses in the fully insured health insurance marketplace.
June 2013
WRDA Passes Out of Senate--Good News for Illinois Farmers
The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed the Water
Resources Development Act
(WRDA/S. 601) today, which is
good news for Illinois farmers
and others who rely on the waterways infrastructure to move
soybeans to market.
Included in the legislation
is the Water Infrastructure Now
Public-Private Partnership Act,
introduced in March by Illinois
Senators Dick Durbin and Mark
Kirk, who teamed up with U.S.
Representatives Cheri Bustos
and Rodney Davis. The act
would create a pilot program to
explore agreements between
the Army Corps of Engineers
and private entities as alternatives to traditional financing,
planning, design, and construction models. The pilot program
is intended to help expedite
projects, including lock and
dam modernization along the
Mississippi and Illinois Rivers.
The Army Corps of Engineers
estimates a $60 billion backlog
of outstanding projects that will
take decades to complete without outside investment.
“Improving and investing
in our waterways infrastructure
is vital to the Illinois soybean
industry,” says Bill Wykes, soybean farmer from Yorkville, Ill.,
and Illinois Soybean Association chairman. “With more than
half of our crop exported, Illinois
soybean farmers depend on an
efficient transportation system
to remain competitive in global
markets. We have access to
many waterways in Illinois, and
our ability to get our products
quickly and efficiently to market
is one of the aspects that sets
us apart from competitors. We
call on the House to pass the
bill quickly.”
S. 601 includes provisions to increase the amount of
funding provided from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund
(HMTF) for port maintenance
and dredging; to streamline the
process for Corps of Engineers
projects and reduce project
completion times; and to free up
money and increase capacity
of the Inland Waterways Trust
Fund (IWTF) by taking the Olmsted Lock and Dam project out
of the trust fund account.
Other measures not included in S. 601 to increase
revenues for the IWTF and
establish alternative financing
mechanisms in order to provide more money to address
inland waterways infrastructure
projects will be pushed in the
House of Representatives.
Flooding, drought magnify need for reliable waterways system
Most people are well aware
that Mother Nature can cause
trouble for crops, but few make
the connection between the effects of rain or drought on major rivers and how that can also
be a disaster for farmers and
ranchers who rely on the inland
waterways system to get their
products to key international
markets.
In late 2011, Mississippi
River levels and those of many
of its tributaries were close to
record highs, but the summer
2012 drought that scorched the
Midwest had the Mississippi
running so extremely low this
January that barge operators
were worried they wouldn’t be
able to float their loads up and
down the river. At the time, getting crops down the river wasn’t
the only concern for farmers,
they were also anxious about
inputs like fertilizer making it
north in time to prep for spring
planting.
In fact, Mississippi River
levels were so low near Thebes, Ill., that the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers early this
year was compelled to blast
away rock pinnacles in an effort
to keep that critical part of the
river deep enough for barges.
A few short months later, in
April, farmers, barge operators
and area residents and officials
were once again watching the
Mississippi, Missouri and other
rivers, as they swelled to dangerous levels after heavy Midwestern rains. In early May,
flood warnings were in place
for rivers in Missouri, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Wisconsin, Illinois andIowa.
While the Army Corps of
Engineers and all those involved in waterway transport
do their best to handle the rising and sinking water levels,
there is no plan in place to manage these vital shipping arteries. However, a bill introduced
in the House, the Mississippi
River Navigation Sustainment
continued to page 4
THREE HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS RECEIVE SCHOLARSHIPS
Kyle Mathews and Sarah
Sellars, both Winchester High
School students, will each receive a 2013 Scott County Farm
Bureau Scholarship.
Cade Hayden, a Pittsfield
High School senior, will receive
the 2013 Rod Webel Memorial
Scholarship from the Two Rivers Farm Bureau Foundation.
Kyle is the son of Jim and
Barb Mathews. This fall, he
plans to attend either the University of Illinois or the University of Missouri and major in
Agronomy/Ag Sciences.
Sarah is the daughter of
Robert and Julie Sellars. Her
plans include attending the
University of Illinois majoring
in Agribusiness.
Cade is the son of Jeff and
Heather Hayden who plans to
attend the University of Illinois
focusing on Plant Biotechnology and Molecular Biology.
The $1,000 scholarships
are made available each year
to qualifying graduating seniors Scholarships are granted
based on academic and other
extracurricular achievements.
Students must also complete
an essay on why agriculture is
important to their community.
Students who pursue a degree
in an agricultural field are given preference in the selection
process.
All essays can be found
at the Two Rivers Farm Bureau
website at http://www.pikecfb.
org/files/documents/2013%20
SCHOLARSHIP%20ESSAYS.pdf
Kyle Mathews
Sarah Sellars
Cade Hayden
Page 2
June 2013
HOWDY!
by Blake E. Roderick
FLAG DAY
June 14 was Flag Day. Usually, I would
have used the verb “is” as you would have
received the June edition of The Farm Post
at the beginning of the month. We’ve been
deluged with other activities that delayed
printing of this edition.
Speaking of deluged, hopefully, the rest
of the 2013 growing season will return to
normal. As I write this, the rivers are inching
their way down the flood stage scale. There
is great hope that by the time you read this,
both of our rivers will just be in ‘minor’ flood
stage. But as I’ve written before, hope is an
illusion. We will see what summer brings.
As I said, June 14 is celebrated as Flag
Day in the United States.
On June 14, 1777, the Continental
Congress adopted the first Flag Act.
“Resolved, That the flag of the United States
be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red
and white; that the union be thirteen stars,
white in a blue field, representing a new
Constellation.” And thus the ‘Stars and
Stripes’ were born.
As the years passed, the U.S. flag has
changed as the country expanded and states
were added.
President James Monroe signed a bill in
1818 that on July 4 of each year, a new star
will be added for each new state.
In 1912, President Howard Taft issued an
executive order prescribing the dimensions
and format of the U.S. Flag. The colors are
White, Old Glory Red, and Old Glory Blue.
The Hoist is the width of the flag. The Fly is
the length of the flag. The Hoist to Fly ratio
is 1:1.9. The Canton or Union is 2/5th of
the Fly and is 7-stripes wide. The width of a
stripe is 1/13th of the Hoist. The Stars are
well the size of the stars involves some sort of
geometry too complex for my limited abilities
to comprehend much less repeat here.
President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed
June 14 as Flag Day in 1916 but it wasn’t until
1949 that President Harry Truman signed an
act of Congress establishing an official Flag
Day.
I was born under a 48-star flag. My guess
is that a majority of you who read this were
born under this flag.
With the introduction of Arizona and New
Mexico to the Union in 1912, the 48-star flag
flew for 47-years. For one year, 1959-60, we
had a 49-star flag. Our current 50-star flag has
flown for 53-years since 1960.
There is a United States Flag Code that
outlines certain flag etiquette. A couple
points of etiquette often abused deal with
advertising and clothing. According to the
code, the flag should never be used for any
advertising purpose and it should not be
embroidered, printed, or otherwise impressed
on such articles as cushions, handkerchiefs,
napkins, boxes, or anything intended to be
discarded after temporary use. Additionally,
advertising signs should not be attached to
the staff or halyard.
Another interesting point of flag etiquette
is that a flag should always be allowed to ‘fall
freely’. There are six-exceptions to this rule
all being the U.S. flags on the moon.
Then we have the flying of the flag at
half-staff.
There are six-days when federal
guidelines call for the flag to be flown at halfstaff. Memorial Day is one of these days—now
relegated to one of the ‘federal employee
day-off’ holidays. We have two days, Peace
Officers Memorial Day and the start of Fire
Prevention week (in memory of the Great
Chicago fire).
Three of these are related to a specific
war: Pearl Harbor Day (December 7), Korean
War Veterans Day (July 27), and Patriot’s Day
(September 11). I’m sure as the generations
pass; these dates will be lost to time and
honor (such as Veteran’s Day) and replaced by
others.
There are regulations for flying the
flag at half-staff upon the deaths of high
government officials. The President can
proclaim flags to be flown at half-staff--the
specific circumstances of those proclamations
often depend on the president’s political ilk.
Governors can also order flags to be flown
at half-staff. Our current governor has a
proclivity to order flags flown at half-staff on
too many occasions. It would be interesting
to see how many days in the past year, the
flag has been ordered to be flown at halfstaff. Once an honor; ordered on significant
occasions, flying the flag at half-staff is
now so common it is either ignored or goes
unnoticed.
We honor the flag in many ways; one
of those being the Pledge of Allegiance
which Americans learn at an early age. The
tradition of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance
at the bringing of each school day started on
October 12, 1892 on the 400th anniversary
of Columbus’ discovery of
America. I honestly don’t
“THE FARM POST (USPS 432-460) is published monthly by the
Pike and Scott County Farm Bureaus,
know if it is a tradition still
PO Box 6, Pittsfield, IL 62363.”
honored in our schools.
—————————————————————————
We also honor our flag
“Periodicals Postage Paid at Pittsfield and Winchester and at additional mailing offices.
Postmaster: Send address changes to THE FARM POST, PO Box 6, Pittsfield, IL 62363.”
by standing (and removing
—————————————————————————
hats) as ‘Old Glory’ passes in
Blake E. Roderick, Editor/Publisher
a parade or if the National
www.tworiversfb.org
Anthem is played or sung at
PIKE COUNTY FARM BUREAU
SCOTT COUNTY FARM BUREAU
public events. Heck, I even
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
David Gay, President; Kim Curry, Vice
Jeff Schone, President; Wayne Brown,
stand when it’s played on
President; Jeremy Thomas, Secretary;
Vice President; Jeff Hurrelbrink,
television.
Brandon Gerard, Treasurer; Adam
Secretary; Paul Stice, Treasurer; Will
In honor of this year’s
Lawson, Assistant Secretary;
Andras, Jim Freeman, Charles Powell,
David Barton, Brady Borrowman, Fred
Chris Smith, Mike Swisher,
Flag Day, we reinstalled the
Bradshaw, Brad Dehart, Edwin Harpole,
Andy Sellars, and Mark Vortman
flag pole that stood in our
Daniel Heavner, Rich Hoover, Kevin
FARM
BUREAU
STAFF
front yard for many years. I
Keithly, Bryan Koeller, Jim Koeller,
Blake E. Roderick, Executive Director
Roger Liehr, Bret Lipcaman, Curt Moffit,
don’t remember the occasion
Wanda Cody, Executive Assistant;
Steven Myers, Mark Nation, Andrew
of when it was taken down
Nancy Wood, Scott CFB Secretary;
Sprague, Mark Sprague, Jim Swartz,
but suspect it had something
Robert Manues, Custodian
and Jim Van Dyne
to do with replacing the roof
PIKE COUNTY FARM BUREAU
SCOTT COUNTY FARM BUREAU
on the “money pit”.
PO Box 6
PO Box 50
In any case, on the
Pittsfield IL 62363
Winchester IL 62694
217-285-2233
morning of June 14, Old Glory
217-742-3351
217-285-2421 (fax)
217-742-3184 (fax)
will once again be flying in
[email protected]
[email protected]
front of our home.
Farming: Raincoats
(and Risk Management) Required
As the old saying goes, when it rains it pours. No one
knows that better right now than farmers, especially those in
the Midwest. Because of the record downpour this spring, it
comes as no surprise crops will be planted very late this year, if
at all. In fact, one needs to go back to 1984 to find a year when
planting began later than where it is right now.
Farmers have always been at the mercy of Mother Nature. That’s why risk management tools play such a vital role
in farming.
An Umbrella of Sorts
Agriculture is fundamentally a risky business. Farmers
have to be willing to spend hundreds of dollars per acre to
plant a crop in the hope that it will come up, the weeds won’t
be too bad, the pests won’t kill it and, in the end, there will
actually be a market that will pay a high enough price to cover
all of these production costs.
As a society, we want farmers to take that risk in order to
put food on America’s dinner tables. Because weather presents a risk to agriculture at a level not experienced by most
other sectors, farmers are able to turn to crop insurance. This
program provides a partnership between farmers and consumers to help share some of the risk. Farmers pay a significant
portion of the premium costs for the insurance policy, while
the taxpayer also shares in that cost by helping to pay the premium. It is a wise investment of public funds.
Last year was one of the worst droughts the nation has
faced in decades. Crop insurance played a pivotal role in helping farmers through that disaster and is a classic example of
why we need this important risk management program.
Weather Predictions
Mark Twain once said, “Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.” No one knows this to be true more so than
farmers, whose livelihood depends on the right combination
of rainclouds and sunshine.
This year, whether farmers are ultimately able to plant
a full crop is only as good as one’s weather forecast. By midJune all of the crop delay issues will either rise as a matter
of great concern or will completely fade away. I’m optimistic,
along with fellow farmers from around the countryside, that it
will be the latter.
In the meantime, as farm bill legislation works its way
through Capitol Hill, Farm Bureau will continue to fight for
flexible and effective risk management tools to help America’s
farmers regardless of sunshine or rain.
June 2013
Page 3
Court refuses to dismiss farmer’s suit against EPA
Poultry and livestock farmers scored a win in April when
a federal court rejected efforts
by the Environmental Protection
Agency to dismiss a case brought
by West Virginia poultry farmer
Lois Alt, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Alt had challenged an EPA
order demanding that she obtain a Clean Water Act discharge
permit for ordinary stormwater
runoff from her farmyard. Despite EPA’s recent withdrawal
of the Alt order, the U.S. District
Court for the Northern District of
West Virginia ruled that the case
should go forward to clarify for
the benefit of Alt and other farmers whether, as EPA contends,
discharge permits are required
for “ordinary precipitation runoff
from a typical farmyard.”
“EPA seems to have believed if it withdrew the order
against Ms. Alt, the court would
dismiss her lawsuit,” said AFBF
President Bob Stallman. “The
tactic failed because the court
recognized EPA wasn’t changing
its underlying legal position, but
just trying to avoid having to defend that position.”
Alt filed suit against EPA
in June 2012 after the agency
threatened her with $37,500 in
fines each time stormwater came
into contact with dust, feathers
or small amounts of manure on
the ground outside of her poultry houses as a result of normal
farm operations. EPA also threatened separate fines of $37,500
per day if Alt failed to apply
for a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
permit for such stormwater
discharges.
Alt responded with a
lawsuit challenging the EPA
order. AFBF and the West
Virginia Farm Bureau intervened as co-plaintiffs with
Alt to help resolve the issue for the benefit of other
poultry and livestock farmers. EPA withdrew its order
in December 2012, about
six weeks before briefing
on the legal issues was set
to begin. The same month,
five environmental groups,
including Waterkeeper Alliance, Center for Food Safety and Food & Water Watch,
moved to join the lawsuit
on the side of EPA.
In opposing EPA’s motion to dismiss, Alt and
Farm Bureau argued that
FREE BROADBAND INTERNET
INSTALLATION – LIMITED TIME OFFER
NOW AVAILABLE IN YOUR AREA. NO DIALING OR TIED-UP PHONE LINES.
SPECIAL OFFER
5200
ONLY
PER MONTH
FREE BROADBAND INSTALLATION
UP TO A $150 VALUE
FLEXIBLE BANDWITH
NO WAITING FOR DIAL-UP
With qualifying new Frontier phone service
and two-year agreement.
t Faster video downloads, streaming music
and more
t Internet that’s always available (unlike dial-up),
with more bandwidth when you need it.
t 100% U.S.-based technical support you can
count on, 24/7
•
Speeds up to 15Mbps available
Available on Power MAX Service plan only. Actual speeds may vary and are not guaranteed.
CALL 1-888-772-3501 NOW
OR VISIT FRONTIER.COM/JUPITER
Steve Schaefer
122 E. Fayette St. Pittsfield, IL. 62363
217-285-2160
Promo Code - 060768
*When you connect to the Internet using Frontier Broadband, the upload and download speeds you experience will vary based on a variety of factors, including the configuration of your computer, the number of concurrent users, network or Internet
congestion, the speed of the websites you are accessing and other factors. Stated speeds and uninterrupted use of service are not guaranteed. During peak hours, actual upload and download speeds will likely be lower than speeds indicated. Available
on the Power MAX Service plan only. Actual speeds may vary and are not guaranteed.
Offer available until 3/31/13 to new or current Frontier customers. Monthly package discount available with qualifying Frontier services. Price includes Anytime Data Allowance per month (for use at any time, including peak daytime hours) plus Bonus Bytes
(for use during off-peak hours, 2AM-8AM). Additional data tokens may be available for purchase. Actual speeds may vary. Speed and uninterrupted use of service are not guaranteed. Requires a clear view of the southern sky. A two-year signed agreement
with a $400 early termination fee (ETF) required for broadband service. Additional fees for failure to return equipment at end of service apply. Frontier Broadband installation charge of $49.99 and a $9.99 broadband processing fee upon disconnection of
service apply. Offer includes waiver of broadband standard installation charges fulfilled by bill credit. Taxes, and governmental and other Frontier-imposed surcharges apply. New Frontier customers are subject to credit approval. Some Frontier services
are subject to availability. Frontier reserves the right to withdraw this promotional offer at any time. Other restrictions apply. © 2013 Frontier Communications Corporation.
R_Q1_01.13_FTR BBND_DBL_B_FLYR
farmers remain vulnerable
to similar EPA orders, because EPA stands by its
contention that the Clean
Water Act statutory exemption for “agricultural stormwater” does not apply to
stormwater from the farmyard at a concentrated animal feeding operation. The
court agreed, noting that
“[t]his court’s ultimate decision on the merits will benefit all parties, including
EPA and many thousands
of farmers, by clarifying the
extent of federal CWA ‘discharge’ liability and permit
requirements for ordinary
precipitation runoff from a
typical farmyard.”
“Ms. Alt has courageously taken on EPA not
just for her own benefit,
but for the benefit of other farmers,” said Stallman.
“She refused to back down
from her principles despite
the best efforts of EPA and
environmental groups. We
are pleased that the court
agreed that the stakes are
high for all poultry and livestock farmers and this issue should be resolved.”
The court also allowed
the environmental groups
to intervene and ordered
briefing on the Alt and
Farm Bureau claims to begin by June 1.
Coming to Grips with Aging Infrastructure
By Garrett Hawkins
Our nation is grappling with aging infrastructure, particularly on inland waterways and ports.
The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the nation’s
inland waterway system a D- grade in its 2013 infrastructure report card. Nearly 50 percent of the nation’s 257 locks are classified as functionally obsolete. By 2020, more than 80 percent will
be functionally obsolete. On the Upper Mississippi and Illinois
River System, 57 percent of the locks were built in the 1930s
with a projected 50-year lifespan.
The challenge comes into focus when you consider that
more than 60 percent of our grain exports are transported via
inland waterways and ultimately, 95 percent of U.S. agricultural exports and imports are transported through U.S. harbors.
These activities support more than 400,000 jobs.
Members of Congress have attempted to address our infrastructure problems by rewriting the Water Resources Development Act, something that hasn’t been done since 2007. WRDA
basically serves as the blueprint for new projects dealing with
flood protection, port improvements and upgrades to lock and
dam infrastructure.
The American Farm Bureau Federation and 20 other agricultural groups recently wrote U.S. senators to reinforce the importance of investing in our inland waterways and ports. Thanks
in part to their efforts, the Senate approved a WRDA bill.
Waterborne transportation is by far our most economical and environmentally friendly transportation mode, but lock
malfunctions or other infrastructure-related problems slow
movements, increase costs and ultimately delay shipments to
consumers. Meanwhile, countries such as Panama, Argentina,
China and Brazil are moving aggressively to improve their infrastructure and therefore their competitiveness in international
markets.
Improving and replacing an aging waterway and port system might seem daunting and expensive, but it can be done,
one step at a time.
Garrett Hawkins is director of national legislative programs
for the Missouri Farm Bureau.
IREC EXPANDS RENEWABLE PORTFOLIO
Illinois Rural Electric Cooperative held a ground breaking for its 500 kilowatt solar
facility which is being built
south of Winchester on Illinois
Highway 106, next to one of
the substations that serves the
cooperative’s 7,800 members.
The complete solar array will cover four acres. At
full capacity, it could provide
enough electricity for about 170
homes on the hottest day of the
year. It will be the first, utility
scale photovoltaic solar energy
system to be built by one of the
state’s twenty-five electric distribution cooperatives.
“We very much appreciate the support of the Illinois
Department of Commerce and
Economic Opportunity and its
grant through the Renewable
Energy Business Development Program,” said Robert
A. Brown, the cooperative’s
president. The DCEO grant
will cover $500,000 of the total
$1,800,000 cost. “We couldn’t
have undertaken this project
without DCEO’s help,” Mr.
Brown continued.
In total this solar project,
with the cooperative’s wind
turbine in Pike County and
with its share of Prairie Power’s
wind resources, Illinois Rural
Electric will have renewable
resources equal to more than
14% of the cooperative’s peak
demand.
All of that energy, according to Mr. Brown, enters the Illinois Rural Electric system at
a cost lower than the cooperative’s wholesale power costs.
“We take real pride in being able to use renewable resources, with the help of the
State of Illinois, which are produced at a cost which is beneficial to our members.” Mr.
Brown said. “Our renewable
portfolio gives us the diversity
which we believe to be critical
for the long-term.”
Founded in 1936, Illinois Rural Electric Cooperative provides electricity in ten
counties through a 3,000 mile
distribution system. It and nine
other electric distribution cooperatives are members of Prairie Power, Inc. which provides
generation and transmission
services for its members.
GOT DEF?
WE DO!
We have Diesel Exhaust Fluid
Available in package or bulk
Call us today!
Winchester office: 217-742-3125 or 800-635-9326
Dana Garrett, Petroleum Specialist: 217-370-2139
The FFA Chapters in Bluffs and Winchester are helping the Scott County Farm Bureau get the word
out during planting season for drivers to Slow Down, Share the Road. Each chapter will receive
a Safety Grant from Farm Bureau to post the signs during the farming season. Pictured here are
Ben Fletcher, WHS; Sarah Sellars, WHS; Ashley Devlin, BHS; Danielle Suhre, WHS; Bryan Barnett,
Winchester High School FFA Advisor; Jeff Hurrelbrink, Chairman, SCFB Member Services Committee; Cory Sprung, Bluffs High School FFA Advisor; Rachel Sellars, WHS; Jacob Gillis, BHS; Sylvia
Frederick, BHS; and Katy Buhlig, BHS.
Page 4
June 2013
AFBF Urges Congress to Keep
Current Tax Tools
Farmers and ranchers need a tax code to manage the
risks associated with agriculture while complying with
tax liabilities, according to the American Farm Bureau
Federation. In a statement filed today with the House
Ways and Means Committee for a hearing on small business taxation, AFBF urged congressional members to
maintain cash accounting tools and higher small business expensing limits in any tax code rewrite.
Cash accounting tools, like the deferral of commodity and product receipts and prepaying the cost of livestock feed, fertilizer and other farm supplies, are important to farmers. Proposed changes to cash accounting
rules, which would require some farmers to change to
accrual accounting, would be time-consuming and costly to farms and ranches.
“Farmers and ranchers will either have to take time
away from running their businesses or pay for help to
comply,” said AFBF. “Both are harmful in an industry with
tight profit margins, unpredictable income streams and
an inability to pass on added expenses to customers.”
Farm Bureau said it supports the continuation of unrestricted cash accounting currently available to most
farmers and ranchers and cautioned against reducing the
number of partnership types eligible to use the tool.
Further, because farming and ranching requires
large investments in machinery, equipment and other
depreciable capital, Farm Bureau said it supports maintaining the $500,000, Section 179 small business expensing limitation and not reducing the $2 million acquisition limit, both of which are scheduled to drop
next year respectively to a $25,000 limitation with a
$200,000 threshold. Section 179 provides accelerated
expensing and depreciation, allowing farmers to better
manage cash flow, minimize tax liabilities and reduce
borrowing.
“Whether caused by unpredictable weather that affects crop yields or uncontrollable markets that set the
price of goods sold, it is not uncommon for farmers and
ranchers to have a year of high income followed by several lean years,” said AFBF. “If the Section 179 small business exemption and threshold are allowed to drop at
the end of the year, farmers and ranchers will lose some
of the accounting flexibility they need to manage their
businesses.”
Jimmy Costello Painting
WE ARE NOW IN YOUR AREA!
Grain Bins · Grain Leg Setups · Roofs · Tanks · Barns
Fences · Morton & Butler Buildings · Houses
CUSTOMER REFERENCES AVAILABLE
Call and get 10% off now!
901-233-1808
We are
Your FIRST Choice
for Rural Home Loans.
Flooding, drought
magnify need...
continued from front page
Act (H.R. 1152), would help
maintain the critical movement
of goods during periods of extreme weather.
“Whether it is low water conditions or devastating
floods, we need to be proactive
in planning and preparing to
keep the Mississippi River open
for commerce,” American Farm
Bureau Federation President
Bob Stallman wrote in a letter
to the bill’s sponsors, Reps. Bill
Enyart (D-Ill.) and Rodney Davis (R-Ill.).
Farmers and ranchers support the legislation as part of a
comprehensive effort-like the
Water Resources Development
Act recently passed by the Senate-to ensure an efficient and
reliable inland waterways system linked to competitive ports.
Without such a system, producers would be hard-pressed to
provide affordable agricultural
products to U.S. consumers
and those in other countries.
Stallman praised Enyart and Davis’ bill, saying it
will improve the understanding
of the Mississippi River system
while giving the Corps more
flexibility to deal with extreme
weather events through better
water management, improved
river forecasting and more effective environmental management.
The legislation would provide more automated gauges
and increase the use of other
river level forecasting tools,
which would help river users
make more informed business
decisions.
The bill would also authorize the Corps to conduct a
study of how to better coordinate management of the entire
Mississippi River Basin during
periods of extreme weather.
The study would include recommendations on improving the
management of the
basin for navigation
and flood risk management, taking into
account the effect the
management of the
entire basin has on
the Mississippi River.
In addition, the
Spring, summer, winter or
fall, nothing outshines
FS Dieselex Gold.
Whether you’re in your fields or on
the highway, you work your diesel
equipment pretty hard. So you need a
diesel fuel that works just as hard. You
need FS Dieselex® Gold.
FS Dieselex Gold is specially
formulated to reduce moisture
accumulation due to infiltration
and condensation. FS Dieselex Gold
also delivers superior levels of cetane,
detergency, lubricity, demulsifier, fuel
stability, and corrosion and oxidation
inhibitors. All of which adds up to
greater power, protection and fuel
economy. So give your equipment that
outshines the rest—FS Dieselex Gold.
Power
YO U R
F I R S T
C H O I C E
F O R
H O M E
measure would give the Corps
more authority to ensure sufficient depths in fleeting areas
and maintain access to docks,
loading facilities and other critical infrastructure.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)
has introduced a companion bill
(S. 565) in the Senate. Much of
Durbin’s legislation was incorporated into the Senate-passed
WRDA bill.
Efficiency
Protection
LO A N S
"HSJDVMUVSBM'JOBODJOHt3VSBM)PNF-PBOTt"QQSBJTBMT
-FBTJOHt"HSJCVTJOFTTBOENPSF
/UI4USFFUt2VJODZ*-
tXXXTUGBSNDSFEJUDPN
1st Farm Credit Services is an equal opportunity provider.
Contact:
Dick Peebles (Cell) 217-473-9706 or
Steve Herron (Cell) 217-242-4208
Two Rivers FS, Inc.
www.tworiversfs.com
©2012 GROWMARK, Inc. A Farm Bureau Affiliate A11429